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My Ocean

2013

The new listings of species and the 165 Decisions and 36 Resolutions adopted or revised at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Bangkok, in March 2013 entered into force on Wednesday 12th June. As a result, the 178 member countries will start regulating the international trade in over three hundred new species now protected by CITES.

Two leading marine science and conservation organizations, the Marine Conservation Institute and Mission Blue, issued the 1st-ever quantitative, scientifically rigorous national ranking of states’ protection of their ocean waters. SeaStates: How Well Does Your State Protect Your Coastal Waters? shows that most states and territories are failing to safeguard our nation’s marine life, seafood and coasts.

Sharks are worth more in the ocean than in a bowl of soup, according to researchers from the University of British Columbia.

A new study, published today in Oryx – The International Journal of Conservation, shows that shark ecotourism currently generates more than US$314 million annually worldwide and is expected to more than double to US$780 million in the next 20 years.

A study just published in the Journal of Marine Biology sheds new light on the relatively rare but occasionally recorded presence of white sharks in waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands, and suggests a new method to help distinguish between white sharks and close relatives, such as mako sharks. The paper, titled "Occurrence of White Sharks in Hawaiian Waters," was written by Kevin Weng of the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) and Randy Honebrink of the Hawai'i DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR).

An exhausting battle spanning nearly 20 years for a new marine reserve in Akaroa Harbour is nearly at an end.

The Akaroa Marine Protection Society, a group of about 20 determined locals headed by husband and wife team Brian and Kathleen Reid, has been fighting for a 530-hectare marine reserve in Akaroa Harbour since 1996.

The reserve, near Dan Rogers Bluff, would protect about 12 per cent of the harbour from fishing.

This afternoon, Conservation Minister Nick Smith announced his approval of the reserve.